Cartons for eggs



J. R. GRANT cARToNs FOR EGGS May 5, 1959 Filed May 3. 195e 3Sheets-Sheet l INVENToR. J@ i? 6kg/mf,

BY M 'A www@ May 5, 1959 J; R. GRANT CARTONS FOR EGGS ssneets-sheet 2Filed May 3, 1956 May 5, 1959 J. R. GRANT 2,885,136

cARToNs FOR EGGS Filed May 3, 1956 .3V Sheets-Sheet 3f INVENzoR;

e Umted States Patent O rice 1885336 Patented May 5, 1959 Fig. 10 is aview similar to Fig. 5, showing the invention applied to a hingedcarton.

The present invention broadly is an improvement upon 2,885,136 corenigggapplication Serial No. 619,1?5, blei Ot o er as a continuation-in-part oa an one CARTONS FOR EGGS application seriai No. 375,112, ined August19, 1953. Jesse R. Grant Chicago, nl. .In the marketing of eggs,oftentimes grading and candling thereof are done at the collectingstation and the Allllcafl"n May 3, 1956, Serial NU- 532,593 eggs thenpacked for shipment to the open market. The carton of the resentinvention ermits this o eration 7 claims. i. 229- P P P (C 2 5) byproviding for handling of the eggs in accordance with establishedpractices generally known as commercial handling. The carton of thepresent invention is composed of two separate members, rst a tray inwhich the eggs rrils lwrinen relates tczieartons fcr eggs andfhls. forlts are supported, tip down, with the cups of that tray being p In .Pa oiec a. new an lfnproie carton e t 1S type' arranged to snugly grip theegg adjacent to its tip, theret lsf a mam ebleet of themvemlon topfevlde e carton by to support it in an upright position. The cups ofthe m Welch eggs placed therein at a eeueetmg station can tray areprovided with feet depending below the bottoms remain through shipmentto market and thence either to of the cup and providina the sole supportfor the tray cold storage or through the channels of trade to the ulti-The Second portion of The carton consists of a cover mate consumer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a twopiece cartonconsisting of a tray and cover both formed by molding, preferably formedfrom a transparent or translucent plastic material through which eggs inthe carton are visible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a twopiece carton in whichthe 'tray has feet depending below the bottoms of the egg cups thereinwhich form a bottom cushion when placed in an egg case and in which thecover has posts extending upwardly from the tops of the inverted cupstherein which form a top cushion for a stack of cartons when the sameare placed in an egg case.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a carton a tray havinga plurality of cups to receive, grip and support eggs, and to providereinforcing utes in the walls of the cup to strengthen them.

Another object of the invention is to provide a molded egg cup in thetray of a carton which is liexible and capable of being distorted toaccommodate eggs, even though those eggs are placed in the cup large enddown.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carton for eggs havingeye appeal, thereby to stimulate the sale Of eggs at the retail market.

Further objects of the invention not specifically mentioned here will beapparent from the detailed description and claims which follow,reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which a preferredembodiment of the invention is shown by way of example and in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the egg supporting tray of thecarton;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the cover portion of the carton;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the longitudinal medianline of the row of cups in the tray and cover, that is, along the line3-3 of Figs. l and 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the carton;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the line .5 5 of Figs. 1and 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 6-6 of Figs. 1 and 2, looking in the direction of the arrowsand drawn to an enlarged scale;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 and taken substantially along theline 7-7 of Figs. 1 and 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a detailed view of a preferred top of an inverted cup;

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view along the line 9-9 of `Fig. 8, lookingin the direction ofthe arrows; and

which is entirely removable from the tray and lits over the eggs andbears upon the tray at the outer edges of the carton and also along aline of posts on the tray disposed between the rows of eggs thereon.

Eggs shipped to an open market are inspected and graded upon arrivalthereat. In case the shipment is to receive official grading, ten (10)half cases thereof, picked at random, are graded by the officialinspectors. The carton of the present invention, having covers which canbe removed from the tray while the carton is in the egg case, permitsthis inspection to be made in an eiiicient manner. Such an inspectionincludes candling of the eggs and the carton of the present invention isdesigned to facilitate such operation in accordance with the establishedpracties of commercial handling.

The carton of the present invention is preferably formed of a plasticmaterial that has a certain amount of resiliency, and preferably-thoughnot necessarilythis material is fully transparent or highly translucent,thereby enabling the eggs to be seen through the walls of the carton.

The carton is designed so that stresses placed upon it are transmittedsolely through its walls and are not transmitted to the eggs. Each eggis enclosed in a resilient cushion which allows limited movement of theegg, thereby the better enabling it to withstand shocks. When stackedone above the other in the egg case, the tray of an upper cartonsecurely locks with the cover of the carton upon which it is resting,thereby to definitely prevent shifting between the layers, with theresult that the eggs are adequately protected.

In its preferred form, the cover of the carton is provided with postsupstanding from the tops of the inverted cups therein. These posts arepositioned midway between the feet on the tray, and when the trays arestacked one upon another, the posts nest between the feet on the uppertray to strengthen the interlock between the cartons. Since the feet andposts nest together, there is no loss of egg space between the cartons.When the cartons are stacked one above the other in an egg case, thefeet on the bottom carton in the stack rest on the bottom of the eggcase and form a bottom cushion for the stack. The posts on the cover ofthe uppermost carton in the stack bear against the cover of the egg caseto form a top cushion for this stack. This arrangement insures a tightpack of the cartons in the egg case which, as is well understood bythose skilled in the art, is essential to the adequate protection ofeggs in shipment.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings where in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 it will be seen that the tray,indicated generally at 10, has a plurality of cups 11 that are uniformlyspaced apart in spaced rows. Each cup consists of a bottom member 12that contains a reinforcing rib 13 which stilfens the bottom member. Asshown, the rib 13 is circular in shape, but this shape may be varied.Rising from `the edges of the bottom 12 and extending upwardly `inltloutwardly therefrom are inwardly curved or convex interrupted wallportions 14 which at their upper ends blend into a flat upper edgesurface 15 of the tray. The surfaces 15 Aextend from end to end of thetray at both sides thereof. The convex wall portions 14 of the cups arepositioned so as to securely grip an egg whose tip is resting upon thebottom member 12, thereby to hold that egg uprightly in the cup.

` Interposed between the inwardly curved wall portions 14 am outwardlycurved or concave wall portions 16 which `extend below the bottom member12 of the cup had terminate in feet 17 by which the cup and tray areSupported- It will be noted particularly from Fig. l that the crests ofthe convex curved wall portions 14 are located equidistant from themedian line of the row in which the cup is disposed. It will also benoted thatin the embodiment shown by way of example, at the crest ofeach of these wall portions 14 is an outwardly curved ilute 18 thatextends from the top to the bottom of the wall portion and serves toaddlateral resiliency to that wall and to stiien it in a verticaldirection.

When molded from a plastic such as modilied polystyrene, polyvinyl,polyethylene or cellulose acetate, with the wall thickness of the trayapproximately 2%000ths of an thick, it has been found that the tray` hassuflicient strength to protect the `eggs in a satisfactory manner. lfthe wall thicknesses of the tray are reduced below 2%0001115 of an inch,asmay `be desirable, it is advisable to reinforce the outwardly concavewall portions 16 and the feet 17 formed thereby. To this end, in thedrawing I have shown inwardly bowed flutes 19 in each of the wallportions 16, which utes extend to the bottom of the feet 17. Thesellutes stiten the feet in a vertical direction, adding strength to thetray.

As will be seen best in Fig. l, the wall portions 14 of four adjacentcups are blended together in a post 20 that is disposed midway betweenthe rows in which the cups tire located. As will be seen best in Fig. 5,the top portion of the post 20 is disposed below the plane in which the`edge portions 1S of the tray are located. Indented into the ktopportion of the post 20 is a socket 21. The utes 18 in the wall portions14 reinforce and strengthen the post 20.

As will be seen in Fig. 4, at the ends of the tray, wall portions 14 and16 terminate at their upper ends in a at surface 22 which is parallel tothe surfaces 15 at the edges of the tray. Surfaces 22 are disposed inthe same plane aslhe tops` of posts 20, which` plane lies below theplane through surfaces 15. The adjacent wall portions 16 of adjacentcups 11, together form walls separating the cups. Preferably the tops 23of these wall portions curve downwardly from the edge surfaces 15 at thesides lout? the tray and from the posts 20, as is clearly shown in isS.

As will be seen best in Figs. 2, 3. 4 and 5, the cover 25 contains aplurality of inverted cups 26 which are arranged in rows and alignedwith the cups 11 in the tray. Each cup 26 has side walls 27 that extenddownwardly and outwardly and terminate in an outwardly extending 11stedge or flange 28 that registers with the dat edges 15 atthe sides ofthe tray. The wall portions 27 of the cover are provided with outwardlybowed flutes 29 which stien these wallsin a vertical direction, and itwill be noted that the flutes 29 are aligned with the flutes 18 the wallportions 14 of the cups.

The walls 27 of the four adjacent inverted cups 26 blend into a post 30which from Fig. 5 will be seen to extend below the plane in which theflanges 28 of the cover are located. The feet 30 are reinforced by theutcs 29 and ft in the sockets 21 in the posts of the tray, thereby toaid the side anges 28 of the cover in supporting the cover upon thetray. The engagement of the feet 30 with the sockets 21 in the posts 20prevents movement of the cover with respect to the tray.

In order to secure the cover onto the tray, the hat edges 15 of the trayare provided with extensions 35 along the sides of the carton. Eachextension projects upwardly and thence inwardly, forming a groove 36into which the ange 28 of the cover projects. Extensions 35 projectbeyond the reentrant portion upwardly and outwardly, as indicated at 37.

Located at the transverse center line of the carton are bosses 38 shownto be semi-cylindrical in shape, which bosses extend through the groove36 and have a portion 39 that overhangs the angc 28 of the cover. Theflanges 28 of the cover are provided with recesses 40 (Figs. 2 and 6)which register with the bosses 38 when the cover is registered with thetray. The overhanging portions 39 of the bosses 38 aid in securing thetray and cover together.

Since the grooves 36 formed by the reentrant extensions 35 of the trayare wider in a vertical direction than the thickness of the flanges 28of the cover, I have provided bosses or offsets 41 in the flanges 28,which bosses 41, as will be seen best in Fig. 7, increases the effectivethickness of the anges 28 on the cover to the width of the grooves 36.The edges 42 of the bosses are tapered with respect to flanges 28 to addresiliency to the bosses. Through this arrangement, a snug tit betweenthe trav and cover is achieved.

In order to stiffen the carton along the longitudinal center lines ofthe rows of cups, the adjacent wall portions 16 of the cups in the tray,which walls together form a divider between the adjacent cups, may beequipped with an indentation 43, preferably of U-shape configuration, aswill be best seen in Fig. S, which is centered upon the median line ofthe row of cups and forms a rib 44 that extends between the cups tostiten the row.

Inasmuch as eggs shipped to the open market may be put in storage, it isnecessary to provide for ventilation.

To this end, in the two-piece carton, the at end por tions 45 at theends of the cover, which are depressed out of the plane of the anges 28to rest upon end wall sections 22 of the tray, are each provided with anelevated central portion 46 which provides an opening 47 at the end ofthe carton, through which opening the requisite ventilation is achieved.

The tops of the inverted cups 26 of the cover may be at and providedwith adjacent indentations into which the feet of a second tray nest inthe manner more fully brought out in my above mentioned copendingapplica tion. Preferably, however, the top of the cups 26 contain a hatcentral portion 50 of such shape and dimension as to receive the bottom`12 of a cup in a tray. Indentations S1 extend downwardly and outwardlyfrom the flat portion 50 and are positioned to receive the feet 17 of atray. Disposed midway between indentatons 51 and rising out of the datportion 50 are posts 52 which have at tops 53 that lie in a common planethat is parallel to the flat portion 50. With this arrangement, when atray is registered with the cover, the bottoms 12 of the cups thereinwill rest upon the llat portion 50, the feet 17 thereon will projectinto the indentations 51 in the inverted cups, and the posts 52 willproject upwardly of the bottoms 12 of the cups alongside the convex wallportions 14 thereof.

The carton shown in the drawings contains twelve egg cups arranged intwo rows of six cups each. This particular type of carton is shown byway of example only, as the teachings of the ,invention may be appliedto cartons containing three dozen cups arranged in six rows with sixcups in each row.

The one dozen carton shown is of such dimension as to permit it to beplaced in the section'of a standard egg case alongside of two othersimilar cartons, forming therewith a layer in the case containing threedozen eggs, in accordance with standard practice.

The next layer, consisting of similar cartons, rests directly upon thetops of the inverted cups, with the feet 17 of that layer and the postson the inverted cups registering together as above, thereby to lock theupper layer against movement laterally with respect to the lower layer.

In a standard egg case, five layers will thus be placed one upon'theother, and it will be apparent that the entire weight of the upperlayers is supported in the case through the cartons in the lower layer.The weight thus imposed upon the inverted cups 26 of the lower layer istransmitted through the walls of those cups to the flanges 28 of thecover and to the feet 30 thereon. The utes 29 in these wall portionsstiffen them in a vertical direction suiiiciently to enable this weightto be resisted without damage to the cup. The weight thus imposed uponthe cover is transmitted to the tray through the engagement of theflanges 28 on the cover, with the edges 15 of the tray, and through theengagement of the feet 30 on the cover with the posts 20 on the tray,these stresses being transferred through the wall portions 14 and 16 ofthe cups 11 to the feet 17. Flutes 18 and 19, if the latter beincorporated, stiffen the walls of the cup in a vertical directionsufficiently to withstand these stresses.

The posts 52 on the inverted cups in the top layer of the stack willbear against the under surface of the cover of the egg case and as thatcover is drawn down tight the posts 52 will form a top cushion for thestack and will insure a tight pack of the cartons in the egg case. Theposts 52 on the top cover and the feet 17 on the bottom tray may bedeformed slightly by the pressures applied to them, but when composed ofa plastic, as mentioned above, these members will restore to normal whenthose pressures are removed due to the elasticity of the material.

Shocks placed upon the case are transferred through the walls of thecartons and do not impose any stress upon the eggs themselves; and sincethe walls of the carton and bottoms 12 of the cups in the trays retain acertain amount of resiliency, limited movement of the individual eggsoccasioned by such shock is cushioned and damage to the egg is avoided.

When composed of a transparent plastic material, eggs are clearlyvisible, and the size, cleanliness, color and damage in shipment, ifany, may be determined without removing the egg from the carton; infact, it is not necessary to remove the cover from the carton to makesuch an inspection.

If the eggs are to be graded at the market-and they will beif sold onthe open marketcandling of the eggs is necessary to determine thequality thereof, quality being the most important factor in determiningthe value of the eggs. To accomplish this, the shipment is graded byinspecting and candling a prescribed number of half cases, usually ten,picked at random throughout the shipment. The carton of the presentinvention permits such an inspection to be made.

Assume, for instance, that it is desired to remove the cover from acarton located in the lower layer in an egg case. The operator reachingdown into the case, places his fingers between the upwardly extendingporti'cn 37 of the bosses 38, forcing that portion outwardly to unlockthe cover from the tray. The cover may be then tilted slightly andcompletely removed from the tray, exposng the eggs which may be pickedout of the tray7 two in each hand, as is the practice in candling ofeggs. The eggs are then twirled before a strong light to candle them inthe usual manner.

In so-called `direct shipments, where the eggs are purchased at thecollecting point and shipped to a distributing point, or directly to aretail outlet, commercial handling of eggs is not necessary; nor isrventilationofthe eggs in the carton necessary since the carton is notin tended to go into storage. A hinged carton meets with popular favo-rin direct shipments and the teachings of the present invention can beeasily incorporated in a hinged carton such as is shown in Fig. 10. Inthis embodiment of the invention, the tray, indicated generally at 60,is constructed exactly as hereinbefore described, except that the atsurface 61 corresponding to the sur face 15 hereinbefore described,contains bosses 62 corresponding to the bosses 41 on the cover along theedges of the carton. At one side of the carton this surface 61 isextended upwardly as indicated at 63, and formed integral with theflange 64 of the cover, which portion corresponds to the flange 2Shereinbefore described.

Along the opposite edge of the carton, the ange 64 contains an extension65 projecting downwardly and inwardly to form a groove 66, into whichthe surface `61 of the tray extends. The lock arrangement 67,corresponding to the lock 38, is employed to secure the cover on thetray. Thus it will be seen that by providing'a hingelike member 63 alongone edge of the tray and transferring the locking arrangement to thecover, a hinged carton is provided. The carton is opened by moving thelock 67 outwardly as before and rotating the cover on its hinge toexpose the eggs. When the teachings of the invention are applied to ahinged carton, the tray and cover are composed preferably of atransparent plastic having some resiliency to add sales appeal to thecarton. l

Thus it will be seen that a carton constructed in accordance with theteachings of this invention affords a strong resilient carriage for eggsin transit, in storage, and through the channels of retail trade to theultimate consumer. When composed entirely of a transparent ortranslucent material, the eggs are visible and the carton and eggs forman attractive unit that may be handled easily and safely. This eyeappeal may stimulate the purchase and use of eggs.

Transparent plastics suitable for use in cartons of this type arenumerous and readily available upon the open market. Such materialspossess resiliency and when articles made therefrom are distorted byforces bearing upon them, return to very nearly, if not exactly, normalwhen the forces are removed. This high recovery charac teristic of thematerial is utilized in the cartons of the present invention with theresult that repeated impacts on the carton are resisted. The cartonreturns to normal between impacts and better protection of the eggs isthus achieved.

While I have chosen to show my invention by illus tratng and describinga preferred embodiment of it, I have done so by way of example only, asthere are many modifications which can be made by one skilled in the artwithin the teachings of the invention.

Having thus complied with the statutes and shown and described mypreferred invention, what I consider new and desire to have protected byLetters Patent is pointed out in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. In an egg supporting carton composed of a resilient moldablematerial; a tray having cups for supporting the eggs spaced apart inrows; at surfaces on the sides of said carton extending outwardly fromthe tops of said cups; extensions of said surfaces projecting upwardlytherefrom, thence inwardly thereover, thence obliquely outwardly andterminating directly above said upward projection, said extensionsforming grooves at the sides of the tray opening towards the centerlinethereof; a boss projecting through each groove at the center thereof,which bosses contain inwardly opening grooves aligned with said rstmentioned grooves; posts centered on the longitudinal center line of thetray and disposed between said cups; a cover for said tray havinginverted cups each of which is aligned vertically with a cup in thetray; feet ll said `eo'ret' disposed between said inverted cups and 1said posts `on the tray to support the cover on the tray; ange portionson said cover at the sides thereof, extending outwardly from the`bottoms of said inverted cups, said ilange portions on the coverengaging the dat surfaces on the tray and extending into said grooves tosecure the cover on the tray, there being indentations in said angeportions into which said bosses extend to securersaid ange portionsagainst movements longitudinnlly` in the grooves.

2. A carton as specified in claim 1, in which the grooves at the sidesof the tray are wider in` a vertical direction than the thickness of theat edges on the cover and in which those edges contain a plurality ofoffsets which increase their effective thickness suicientlyto form asought in the grooves. p

3. In a carton for supporting eggs, a tray for receiving Gle eggs; `datedge portions at the sides of the tray; extensions onthe outer edges ofsaid edge portions extending upwardly, inwardly and thence obliquelyoutwardly,

and forming inwardly opening grooves at `the sides of the trly; lockingbosses projecting through said grooves; a cover, anges along the sidesof said cover registered in said grooves, said flanges containingindentations into which the locking bosses extend to lock the flangesagainst movements longitudinally in the grooves, and bosses projectingout of said `tlanges and engaging thewalls of the grooves to form a snugfit of the anges in the grooves.

` 4. In anlegg supporting carton composed of a resilient moldablematerial: a tray, a plurality of cups in said tray uniformlyspaced apartin spaced apart rows, each cup including `a dat `bottom from the edgesof which inwardly curved wall portions extend `upwardly and outwardly tothe tops of the cups, which wall portions are centered upon linesdisposed midway between the` center lines of said rows: outwardly curvedwall portions extending be-` tween `said inwardly curved wall portionsand extending below the bottom of the cup forming feet thereon;outwardly bowed utes at the centers of said inwardly curved wallportions extending from end to end `thereof to increase the lateral`resiliency of the wall portion and to strengthen it longitudinally; andinwardly bowed utes in said outwardly curved wall portions extendingfromend to end `of the wall portion to stilfen it and the feet.

5. In an `egg supporting carton consisting of two members composed of a`resilient moldable material; a tray having cups for supporting the eggsspaced apart in rows, posts on said tray disposed between the rows ofcups havingtsockets depressed into their upper surfaces, flat on thesides of the tray extending outwardly from the tops of the cups; a coverhaving inverted cups each of which is aligned vertically with a cup inthe tray; feet on the cover depending below the inverted cups andengaged in the sockets in the posts on the tray to support the coverthereon; anges on the `cover along the sides thereof, extendingoutwardly from the bottom edges of the inverted cups and engaging thehat surfaces on the tray to. support the sides of the cover thereon; agroove in thetrsy opening inwardly thereof, into which groove the flangeon the cover projects to secure the cover on the tray; a boss on thetray projecting through said groove, there being an indentation in saidange into which the boss is registered to prevent movements of theflange longitudinally of the groove.

6. In an egg supporting carton consisting of two members composed of aresilient moldable material; a tray having cups `for supporting the eggsspaced apart in rows, posts `on said tray disposed between the rows ofcups having sockets depressed into their upper surfaces, hat surfaces onthe sides of the tray extending outwardly from the tops of the cups; acover having inverted `cups each of which is aligned vertically with acup in the tray; feet on the cover depending below the inverted `cupsand engaged in the sockets in the posts on the tray `to support thecover thereon; flanges on the cover along the sides thereof, extendingoutwardly from the bottom edges of the inverted cups and engaging the atsurfaces `on the tray to support the sides of the cover thereon; agroovein the tray opening inwardly thereof, into which groove the tlangeon the cover projects to secure the cover on the tray, the height ofsaid groove being greater than the thickness of said ange; and offsetportions in said `llange increasing the effective thickness thereofsuliciently to forma snug t in the groove.

7. In `an egg supporting carton composed of a resilient moldablematerial, a `tray having a plurality of` cups for receiving eggs; a atbottom in each cup; feet in each cup depending below said dat bottom,said cups being arranged `in parallel rows and said feet being centeredon the center lines of said rows; a cover registered with said tray andhaving a plurality of inverted cups, one for each cup in the tray andaligned therewith; a flat topon each inverted cup; and posts on eachinverted cup, projecting above said at top, said posts being centered onlines midway between said center lines and extending between the feet onthe tray cups when `cartons are stacked oneupon the other.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,088,603 Kronenberger Aug. 3, 1937 2,517,465 Cox Aug.` 1, 19502,591,446 Lennon Apr. l, 1952 2,600,130 Schilling June l0, 19522,656,945 Grant Oct. 23, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 730,144 Great Britain May18, 1955

